Police have arrested a man after an armed stand-off in the small West Coast town of Reefton.

Police evacuated some homes and set up a cordon near the house where a man was holed up with a gun about 6pm.

A police spokeswoman said the 62-year-old man was taken into custody about 9.30pm after he surrendered himself to officers.

‘‘He was held up in a house with a firearm and another person had

alleged he had threatened them with it.’’

Reefton and Greymouth police were called to the incident, at a semi-rural property near the Reefton Racecourse.

A resident who lived nearby told The Press that police had visited and told his family to lie low.

‘‘They said someone is holed up in his home and they are talking to him. We were told to evacuate, but we have got nowhere to go. We’re in darkness in our house. We were told to close our curtains, turn the outside lights off and we’re just sitting here. We were told to wait until the police come back and say everything is OK.

‘‘I know who he is. I know the guy. I know him well. I don’t know what the hell the story is.’’

The man said he knew a woman who was walking her dog when a policeman ‘‘jumped out’’ of a hiding place and told her to go inside.